Well, there are 10 days left in September, which means that there are 10 days left until I've been fundraising for a WHOLE YEAR! It seems crazy to me that I first heard about Urban Tribes all the way back in May of 2016. Time has flown by and I am so ready to be in Durban! I've learned so much about myself and God this year and grown in so many ways. God's faithfulness and the way He works through others to provide for me is unbelievable. If you're ever struggling with faith in God, just spend a year fundraising. So, here's where I'm at with my budget:
Monthly commitments: $950 out of $4200
This sounds farther behind than it actually is. There are lots of people who have given me verbal commitment, but are still needing to actually sign up with AGWM. If you are reading this and you are one of those people, it's very important that you sign up by September 30th! AGWM Africa requires that I have 100% of that $4200 covered in actual commitments, not just verbal ones. This is because they don't want me to end up with no money in a foreign country. :) If you haven't committed to monthly support, I would ask you to consider it, even if it's only a small amount like $10. As someone who supports other missions monthly, I can tell you that it's worth the Starbucks drinks I had to cut out of my budget to see God work in a person's ministry that I know I am a part of!
Cash budget: $19,200 out of $30,000
I am doing really great with my cash! I know $10,800 looks like a lot to raise in 10 days, and it is. BUT, the great thing about monthly commitments is that since I have to have them all before I leave, the money that comes in from those now goes straight into my cash budget. In addition to that, I shared at King's Chapel Assembly of God in Springfield, MO earlier this month. The service and message were awesome and they took an offering for me. They send out all of their checks once a month, so I will not see that reflected in my cash until the end of this month. If monthly is just not an option for you right now, which I totally get, consider making a donation to my cash budget. Again, any amount helps! And in the end it's really about your heart and not how much you can give.
Outside of my budget, I got to do something really awesome this month. I have a friend from work who volunteers with her church's youth ministry. She invited me to go and share with their kids about missions, so of course I said yes! It was such an awesome experience to get to share with them what Urban Tribes is doing. I could see several of them get excited about the possibility of urban-focused missions and they had lots of great questions about it! I loved getting to talk with them about the variety of opportunities in missions now. Would you pray with me that this generation will find a passion for missions and find new ways to reach the younger generations?
One more thing I want to ask you to pray for. I have a big event coming up on September 30th and I am believing God for the rest of my cash budget and monthly support to come from this event! I am praying for about 150 people at this event. If you live in the Waynesville area, I would love for you to come. It's only $10 if you pay by the 27th and $15 at the door. The flyer is below.
Thank you all so much for your support and your prayers! I am so grateful for all of the ways that you have helped me through this process and will continue to help me as I make the transition to Durban.
Esther
